Congressional candidate Greg Pence using 'submarine strategy'

Congressional candidate Greg Pence, left, greets Bebette Parr, right, during the Bartholomew County Republican election night watch party hosted by the Central Committee in the Hamilton Community Center & Ice Arena Columbus, Ind., on Tuesday, May 8, 2018. Greg Pence is the brother of Vice President of the United States Mike Pence. (Photo11: Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar)

MUNCIE, Ind. — Republican Congressional candidate Greg Pence is re-deploying the game plan that won in the primary election: dodge the media, avoid debates and spend time with voters at parades and festivals.

"They must have a 'submarine strategy" of run silent, run deep," observed Chad Kinsella, an assistant professor of political science at Ball State University.

Pence's campaign has ignored his Democratic opponent, who has accused him of "hiding," Ball State's political science department, and The Star Press, based in the district's largest city — Muncie. The state Democratic Party chairman calls Pence a chicken.

The newspaper was denied an interview with Pence for the primary election, and this fall has been unable to even get through to his communications director, who has not returned repeated phone calls and emails since Sept. 10.

In one sense, such a tactic is odd, according to Kinsella. But on the other hand, Pence's last name is well known. He's the brother of Vice President Mike Pence.

"I can only surmise that they have compelling information to show that he is up by a large margin and … have adopted that as policy for the campaign in order to simply coast to a win in a couple of weeks," Kinsella said via email. "I think if there were any information to the contrary they would be out working and, given his access to the vice president and having him as a brother, they would have Mike and other big names in to rally for him … "

The Greg Pence for Congress Committee had raised $2.3 million as of Sept. 30.

Jeannine Lee Lake, the Democratic nominee and big underdog for the open Congressional seat — in the safe Republican Sixth District — also has received the cold shoulder, starting on the night she and Pence won their parties' respective nominations in the primary.

"On election night, you call to congratulate the other side," Lake said in an interview. "We did that and never got a courtesy call back or an acknowledgment that we even called. If you're supposedly a Christian, you should at least acknowledge the other person as a human being. I don't think he's said my name out of his lips one time."

Lake quoted the North Vernon Plain Dealer newspaper as reporting that Pence answered, "Who?" when asked if he would debate Lake.

She considered the response "flippant," "arrogant," "unfriendly" "un-Christian" and "pompous."

Which is why she introduced herself to Pence at the Versailles Pumpkin Show last month, in case he had forgotten that she was running.

"I said, 'Hi there, Greg, I'm Jeannine Lee Lake.' He said, 'How are you,' shook my hand and just kind of looked at me and folded his arms. I just said, 'Look the sun is shining down on all of us equally.' It was a beautiful day. I don't feel like this man thinks of himself in the same arena as the rest of us."

Lori Morgan, Lake's campaign manager, said of Pence's campaign: "He's definitely laying low. Their whole strategy is basically to hide. We feel it's very disrespectful to the constituents. He won't even come out and meet people and speak to them about his beliefs. He refuses to have any public comments."

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Congressional candidate Jeannine Lee Lake speaks during a fundraiser at her Muncie-area home in September, an event that featured David Letterman.(Photo11: Jordan Kartholl / Star Press, )

Molly Gillaspie became Pence's communications director in June. Before that, she was communications director for current Sixth District Rep. Luke Messer, who unsuccessfully ran for the Senate this year. Before that, she was a public information officer for the Indiana attorney general and a press secretary for state Senate Republicans.

As the spokesperson for the attorney general and for Messer, Gillaspie assisted/commented in numerous Star Press stories and visited the newsroom, as did Messer.

The Star Press first contacted Gillaspie via email on Sept. 10 to ask if Pence would be campaigning in Muncie before the election (he spoke at the county GOP's Lincoln Day Dinner in Muncie on Sept. 22). She did not respond to that email, or to follow-up emails on Sept. 26 and Oct. 10, or to repeated telephone calls during that time.

In recent weeks, Pence has campaigned at the Jefferson County Women's Club, a parade in Hancock County, the Hancock County GOP Fall BBQ, the Aurora Farmers Fair, Metamora Canal Days, at a friend's farm, at a medical technology firm in Batesville, the Versailles Pumpkin Show Parade, the Chautauqua Festival of Art in Madison, the Franklin County Homecoming Parade, and a Bartholomew County parade, in addition to securing an endorsement from his grandchildren and welcoming the governor to Pence's hometown of Columbus, according to his Facebook page.

A recent post on the Facebook page is a video of Pence being interviewed by the conservative radio host Greg Garrison about Pence's devotion to God and guns.

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody offers to give Republicans rides to debates that they have declined to participate in.(Photo11: Indiana Democratic Party)

Pence hasn't debated or generated much news lately. He was mentioned briefly in a CNHI newspaper article last week in which Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody compared the large number of Indiana Republicans who won't debate to chickens.

Zody was photographed standing next to a person in a chicken costume in front of a yellow chicken limousine available to drive Republicans to debates.

Pence was one of the Republicans mentioned in the story written by Scott Miley, who quoted an unnamed Pence spokesperson as saying, "Greg Pence continues to focus on canvassing the 6th District, attending events in all 19 counties and talking directly with voters to hear their ideas and concerns."

Miley told The Star Press the spokesperson was Gillaspie. "I was lucky," he said of obtaining the comment.

Lake said she has tried for months to contact Gillaspie and other Pence staffers about a debate. Lake sent emails, Facebook messages, letters and an open invitation via a newspaper op-ed inquiring about a debate.

"We have gotten no response, no answers, no affirmative inclinations that they even received our requests, so we've been rejected at every level of communication," Lake said.

Ball State's political science department also was ignored by Pence's staff.

"We always email all candidates to see if they want to recruit volunteers and have also never heard a response from the Pence campaign," said Kinsella, the assistant professor of political science quoted earlier in this story.

The initiative is intended to encourage BSU students "to meet people," Kinsella said. "It could lead to an internship." Lake did respond. "She's been up here a couple of times." Kinsella said.

In fairness to Pence, he wasn't the only candidate to ignore the offer, Kinsella said.

"If you are up by large numbers in a campaign it pays to not debate," according to Kinsella. "Debates are high risk/high reward but not worth it if you have a clear path to victory. It also gives your competitor, who is usually much lesser known, free press that helps your competitor more than you. I think this would be especially true in the case of Pence — a well-known name — and Lake."

Lake finds it "disconcerting that he not only doesn't want to debate me but he also doesn't want to debate the voters." She has found that even fellow Democrats "rake you over the coals" on the campaign trail.

"It makes me a better candidate, a smarter candidate," she said. "Someone asks you about NAFTA or NATO, you have to have an answer. He (Pence) doesn't want to be under the gun when it comes to questions from the voters. They deserve to have someone who can stand there and take questions."

As a result of Pence's making only safe appearances, "the only thing we have to go on is him saying he will do whatever it takes to uphold the Trump agenda and the agenda of his brother Mike," Lake said. "He doesn't comment on things. He never said a word about the Noblesville middle school shooting, not even thoughts and prayers. We looked and looked."

Tom Ferkinhoff, the Libertarian candidate in the Sixt h District, told The Star Press: "… I know that Greg has experienced campaign advisers that he has hired … I am sure that they have advised him that in a heavily Republican district his best strategy is to not put himself in a situation where he might do or say anything that would lose the election. This strategy has been used by many candidates from both sides of the aisle over the years and until the voters demand that candidates be open and accessible during the campaign cycle I am sure the strategy will continue to be used in the future."

Actually, this is the first time The Star Press has been denied access to a Sixth District congressional candidate going back to at least Phil Sharp.

Lake has attracted attention from media including MSNBC, Huffington Post, The Daily Show, WRTV in Indianapolis and WKRC-TV in Cincinnati. Much of the coverage stems from the fact Lake is a black female running in a 94-percent white district against the vice president's brother.

Lake finds it "insulting" that outsiders think Indiana is so backward. "We are making inroads in these small towns," she said. "It's been such a wonderful reception. I've been everywhere in the district (running from Muncie to the Ohio River). It's a beautiful process. We believe we are going to win. No county is too red for us. We believe we are going to win handily."

Morgan, Lake's campaign manager, claims Pence is "out of touch with what's really going on in this district. People want a change from the same old tired Republican stuff we've had in this state for how many years."

Consider Kinsella highly skeptical.

"In order to keep money coming in and keep your supporters excited you must project confidence and tell people you are going to win," he said. "At this point, it is not listed on the Cook Political Report or on the map of competitive races on Real Clear Politics – both places I go to for political information."

If Lake did win, it would be a "huge upset" that was part of a broader “blue tsunami” that would have hit the country, Kinsella went on.

"A big question would be why did the Pence campaign do little to stop it, when they have made little effort to even acknowledge there is a campaign. Ultimately, they would have a lot of egg on their faces and not look too smart. It would be part of a large rebuke to the president and an embarrassment to Vice President Pence. It will also be another huge embarrassment to polling in that they missed a much bigger trend."